Standard Chartered Close to Paying up to $300m to Settle US Compliance Probe

Standard Chartered bank is nearing a deal with US regulators to settle claims relating to the bank's anti-money laundering controls.

The British bank is close to paying between $200m (£120m, €150m) and $300m to settle the allegations about failings in its systems and controls highlighted by New York's banking regulator.

Chief New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky's allegations centre on Standard Chartered's computing system, which should have flagged unusual activity to regulators but failed to catch millions of wire transfers due to technical errors, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal.

However the apparent failings to monitor suspicious transactions did not necessarily point to instances of money laundering, reported the Journal.

An official announcement can be expected as early as 19 August, said reports.

The penalty would be the second handed out to the bank by New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in two years. In August 2012, Standard Chartered agreed to pay $340m to settle allegations that the bank had improperly processed transactions for Iranian customers, violating US sanctions compliance laws.

As part of the 2012 settlement, Standard Chartered installed an independent compliance monitor to watch over its international transactions. The latest problem was detected by the monitor.

As part of the current settlement, the bank will likely extend the monitor's position for an additional two years, reported WSJ.